Denmark EUC Zealand Jagtvej 2 4700 Naestved www.eucsj.dk

Helge Hansen, Internationalisation Manager Pia Schmidt, Project manager

Germany ITC Innovation and Trend Center GmbH Hansestrasse 21 18182 Bentwisch www.itc-bentwisch.de

Kerstin Rönick, Project managerKatrin Lorenz, Project promotor

HIE-RO at the University of Rostock Ulmenstrasse 69 – Haus 3 18051 Rostock www.hie-ro.de

Pawel Warszycki, Project manager Sebastian Grigo, Project promoter

Lithuania Rietavas Business Information Centre Parko str. 5 LT-90311 Rietavas www.rietavovic.lt

Laima Dockeviciene, Project manager Rasa Baliuleviciene, Project administrator Janina Skeberdiene, Project communicator

Zemaitija College Llvinskio 5 90311 Rietavas www.zemko.lt

Daiva Jackuniene, Project promoter Rimante Jocyte, Project communicator

Poland University of Szczecin Aleja Papieza Jana Pawla II, 22° 70-453 Szczecin www.us.szc.pl

Monika Tomczyk, Project manager Monika Wojtkiewicz, Project promoter Sweden Litorina Folk High School Gullberna Park, Vasskär 371 54 Karlskrona www.litorina.fhsk.se

Neelum Bhatti, Project promoter

NetPort Science Park (Lead partner) Bibilioteksgatan 4 374 35 Karlshamn www.netport.se

Marie Björck, Project leader Catarina Borgqvist, Financial manager Peter Bengtsson, Communication manager

Partners

Contents

A matter of necessity 5

About 7

Partners 8

Sister projects 10

Associated partners 10

Concept 12

Testing model 13

Stakeholder seminars 13

Project coaching 14 Dreams may come true - a teacher’s story 19

Success stories 20

Leaving the comfort zone 21

The essence of cross-border collaboration 22

From student participant to company owner 23 Becoming business partners 24

Differencesimproveknowledge 25

Turning life around through art 28

Compare logistics across borders 29

Learning how to make it in the real world 30

SBTP on tour 32

Tour 1 - Joinery 32

Tour 2 - Physiotherapy 35 Dissemination 36

Conclusions 38

Statements 40

Visions and pioneers 45

A matter of necessity

Below:Students during their training in Lithuania, together with project promoter Daiva

AtthetimeoftheHanseaticLeague,inthelateMiddleAges,theBalticSeawasaflourishingregion with close business relations. Young people went abroad as apprentices in order to get good training and learn a profession. This tradition continued even after the end of the Hansa, but in the 20th century it almost ceased to exist. This was the starting point for the Norden Association to start developing what became the Baltic Training Programe in the Central Baltic in 2009. The inspirational concept of Norden Association led to the establishment of the South Baltic Training Programme in 2012.

Adapting to new market conditions

A common labour market has now been revitalised in the Baltic Sea region. The increased mobility of labour calls for harmonised skills and dissemination of knowledge in and about the region. The new market conditions allow development of cross-border entrepreneurship, involving a skilled and integrated labour force in various spheres of business. Schools and other institutions providing vocational training need to adapt to the new market conditions in order to give an adequate response to the market needs. The question of internationalisation of vocational education and training is not a matter of choice, but a matter of necessity.

About

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South Baltic Training Programme (SBTP) is a project aiming to support internationalisation of vocational education and training (VET) as well as cross-border entrepreneurship. The project ranbetween2012-2014,andwasfinancedbytheSouthBalticProgrammewithcontributionsfrom eight partners from Denmark, Germany, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden.

Facilitating exchange and offering support

The goal of SBTP is to help VET-students to develop ideas together with companies abroad. The competence of the students in their chosen profession and knowledge about neighbouring countries are improved by facilitating exchange. SBTP also supports companies in the process of employing VET-graduates in the internationalisation in the South Baltic Sea region. The companies are exposed to new markets and connections with well-educated students for potential future employment. Furthermore, the project offers schools and other providersof VET support in their internationalisation through the opportunity for students to do a compulsory internship abroad as well as through thematic seminars. The purpose of the project is also to get inspiration and to document the results as well as identify challenges from work done in the region in order to facilitate further development of these ideas.

Advantage with close neighbours

Denmark, Germany, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden are close neighbours with rapidly developing relations. New transport routes have made it easier for people to travel between these countries. The companies are often front runners, and the sectors are now establishing new relations or re-establishing relations from before the Soviet era. It has led to increased exchange between countriesinotherfieldsaswell,suchasculture,educationandsports.Beingcloseneighboursgives the advantage of short distances geographically but also in terms of understanding each other’s cultures and values.

To feed a modern welfare state

Thesefivecountriesdependonexports,sincethehomemarketsaretoosmalltofeedamodernwelfare state. In order to strengthen the home markets, the countries need to cooperate and create a common market. The common South Baltic Sea market must have an understanding of cross-border entrepreneurship, and function as an arena where companies can practice and develop joint businesses in order to compete in the global market as well.

Netport Science Park (S)NetPort Science Park is a Triple Helix organisation aiming to increase cooperation among the private, public and academic sectors in order to facilitate sustainable economic growth in the Blekinge region. The science park is a meeting place for people, ideas, creativity and knowledge. Thanks to NetPort, the Blekinge Institute of Technology attracts more students, teachers and researchers. Students find mentors and internships inthe private sector, whilst companies initiate

commercially relevant research projects. The business sector has close connection to science, which enables new knowledge and discoveries. Start-ups receive funding and support through NetPort’s partner Blekinge Business Incubator. NetPort supports the development and dissemination of knowledge, business opportunities, research and other innovation-driven activities, primarily through initiating and participating in research projects together with local, national and international

Partners

SBTP has eight partners from the South Baltic region: Lead partner NetPort Science Park, Litorina Folk High School, ITC Innovation and Trend Center GmbH, Rietavas Business Information Centre, Zemaitija College, EUC Zealand, The Hanseatic Institute for Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, and University of Szczecin. Furthermore, there are eleven associated partners involved in the project as well as two sister projects.

partners. The goal of the projects is to create a fertile area for societal development.

Litorina Folk High School (S)Litorina Folk High School has established a clear Baltic Sea profile by paying extraattention to the countries around the Baltic Sea, in the education plan and by following the development of the region. The school initiates and participates in different internationalprojects and get-togethers in the South Baltic Sea Region. Each year the school arranges a field trip to one of the Baltic countries. Theschool promotes democratic thinking, and the students have one representative on the staff council and one on the school board.The school welcomes students from various parts of the world, which creates an exciting international atmosphere.

ITC Innovation and Trend Center GmbH (D)The ITC Innovations and Trendcenter (ITC) is the technology centre and business incubator of the municipality of Bentwisch, in the neighbourhood east of the Hanseatic town Rostock. The ITC, which is one of 250 companies in the business park Bentwisch, is an important provider for office and production facilities.The ITC offers management consultancyconcerning business start-ups and business development. The focus is on cooperation

between companies and exchange within the business park. The ITC participates in EU projects often with the focus on enhancing and strengthening cooperation and the usefulness of contacts to regional and business decision makers.The ITC is certifiedasa “RecognizedInnovation Center” by the Association of German Technology Centers. The municipality of Bentwisch has been named “Businessfriendliest municipality of the federal state Mecklenburg West Pomerania”.

Rietavas Business Information Centre (LT)Rietavas Business Information Centre (RVIC) was founded by the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Lithuania and the Council of Rietavas Municipality in 2002. RVIC is a reliable partner for entrepreneurs working in Rietavas municipality, by providing high-quality consult-ation, training and technical assistance. RVIC also promotes Rietavas municipality’s potential as a location for foreign and local investment. RVIC clients are mainly small and medium sized entrepreneurs from Rietavas municipality, but also from other districts in Lithuania. With support from RVIC during the last 3 years 68 business subjects were established and developed international contacts, assistance was provided regarding the establishment of 150 new enterprises. More than 600 jobs have been created during the period of the centre’s existence.

Below:Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaitee visits an SBTP expo

Zemaitija College (LT)Zemaitija College is a public institution of higher education, established in 1859 as the first Trade School of Agronomy in Lithuania.It is well known as an educational institution having long traditions and an experienced and devoted teaching staff that trains highlyqualified specialists and practitioners.Zemaitija College offers higher educationand vocational qualifications in the social,technology, biomedicine, art and education sectors. Over the last 10 years Zemaitija College has implemented numerous EU projects and has established partnerships with more than 40 institutions within and outside the EU.

EUC Zealand (DK)EUC Zealand is one of Zealand’s largest providers of vocational education to recent graduates of the ordinary schooling system, as well as of continuing education to adults already in the labour market. It is a modern centre dedicated to meeting the expectations of trainees, students, course participants and partners with professionalism, traditions of good workmanship, the latest technology

and an inspiring learning environment. EUC Zealand contributes to societal growth and development by educating both adolescents and adults, ensuring those seeking an education the possibility of active participation in a democratic society. With a turnover of around 28 million euro, EUC Zealand is an important vocationally-oriented training centre in a region that covers around 400,000 citizens. Each year close to 2,000 trainees complete courses in EUC Zealand’s centres inNæstvedorKøge. Some300 staffare responsible for the provision, content and teaching of the vocational courses, technical upper secondary school, and labour market training. The company is a competent partner for the surrounding business community.

The Hanseatic Institute for Entrepreneurship and Regional Development (D)The Hanseatic Institute for Entrepreneurship and Regional Development at the University of Rostock (HIE-RO) deals with applied research into innovation, human resources development, evaluation, concepts and strategies of learning regions and entrepren-

Left:Coach Anastasia opens the student presentation at a stakeholder seminar in Poland

Associated partnersSwedenThe Enterprise and Crafts AssociationThe Regional Council of Blekinge

LithuaniaRietavas Women’s Employment CentreThe Union of Industrialists of PlungeLithuanian Small and Medium Business CouncilLithuanian Tourism AssociationPlunges Local Labour Exchange

PolandRegionalLabourOfficeinSzczecinRegional Vocational Training Centre

Germany ECOVIS Europe AG County Rostock

eurial education. In cooperation with universities and institutions HIE-RO carries out analyses, studies and evaluations mostly focused on the Baltic Sea Region. The main working fields are research in support ofstart-ups and entrepreneurial education, promotion of an integrated approach to regional development, scientific supportand evaluation of training programmes and networks, and creation of channels of scientific information exchange. The resultsare an increasing number of entrepreneurial mindsets in the region, development of regional strategies, bridging gaps between institutions of higher education, and regional, national and international actors, and human capital investments taking into consideration the importance of enterprising and entrepreneurial skills.

University of Szczecin (PL)The Faculty of Management and Economics of Services (FMES) at The University of Szczecin comprises 18 chairs and 3 departments. It has over 60 years of tradition which, together with an advanced infrastructure, makes it one of the best faculties of economics in the region. Part of the didactic process is carried out within the concept of blended learning with a use of an advanced e-learning platform. Within the framework of the Erasmus Programme, FMES cooperates with higher educational institutions from European countries such as Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Denmark, France, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Turkey.

Below:Coaches and partners

Sister projectsThe Norden Association has initiated the process of forming a cluster with SBTP and its two sister projects, Baltic Training Programme (BTP) and Nordpraktik. BTP (2009-2012) supports internationalisation of VET as well as cross-border entrepreneurship. The area of operations includes Estonia, Latvia and the eastern part of Sweden. Nordpraktik (2011-2013) supports internationalisation of VET as well as cross-border business development. The area of operations includes Finnish Lapland, northern Norway and northern Sweden.

The aim of SBTP is to recreate the mobility of young students in vocational training in order to offer new knowledge, experiencesandcontactsthattheymightnotfindintheirhome country. SBTP provides VET-students the opportunity to take part in international

training and internships abroad in order to develop their professional skills as well as knowledge of the South Baltic region. SBTP provides companies the opportunity to develop an international collaboration with qualified students from Sweden,

Concept

Theprojectconceptisbasedontheearlier“HansaVETJourneymanTravel”,whichwasdevelopedand tested in 2009 within the Central Baltic part of the European Union common market. The challengeofSBTPwas to test theoriginal concept in theSouthBaltic region,withdifferentmarketconditionsanddifferentrealitiesofvocationaltrainingintheparticipatingcountries.

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Left:The testing model

Denmark, Lithuania, Germany and Poland. Using entrepreneurial students allows the company to lift their product development to an international level and to get new cross-border business contacts in a specific area.Collaboration and exchange make actors more competitive on the global market, and for the VET-schools to act internationally with new input about necessary skills is required for mobility in the South Baltic region. SBTP has established relations with more than 50 companies within 40 areas, together with 70 skillful students from about 20 schools.

Testing modelEach of the five countries has an appointedmatch-maker, who initially contacts the students by presenting the SBTP concept at various schools in their region. If possible, the students may link their project to a company in their home country, for instance at a company at which they have had an earlier internship. After getting an application with a project idea from the student, the match-maker contacts all partners in order to find a matchinghost company in one of the remaining four partner countries. When finding a hostcompany, the students participate in a one-week introduction in one of the hosting countries together with teachers and coaches representing all the five countries involved.In this educational module, the students are provided with relevant orientation in the host country’s business and social life. In order

to increase the student’s knowledge, the student is also trained in relevant subjects that will be useful during the internship, such as project management, entrepreneurship and cultural awareness. This part consists of project presentations by the students, as well as team-building exercises and group coaching divided by host-countries. The project coaches participate in the educational module in order to support the students’ continued work on the project idea.

Initiative and responsible work

The introduction week is followed by a three-weeks internship abroad at the host company. During the internship the student is assigned a supervisor. Initiative and responsible work is required of the student in order to have a fruitful and beneficial internship. Bothstudentsandcompaniesareofferedcoachingin order to support the development of joint cooperation projects. The testing module ends with a three-day summary consisting of recap sessions where the students make their project presentations. This part also involves evaluationandreflectionfrombothstudentsand host companies.

Stakeholder seminarsThe following part of the concept consists of organised stakeholder seminars for target groups such as providers of VET, companies and organisations, media, local, regional and national authorities as well as politicians and civil servants. The seminars approach relevant topics aiming to identify needed actions in order to support internationalisation of VET and cross-border entrepreneurship in the South Baltic region. The recap days and seminar also give opportunities for the students to reflect on their work, individually and ingroups. A part of the stakeholder seminars are dedicated to the student presentations and to share their experience with professionals.

Seminar topics

- First stakeholder seminar in Rostock, Germany: Mobile workforce, comparability of VETeducation,needs,benefitsandchallenges.

- Second stakeholder seminar at NetPort

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Right:Students preparing presentations during introduction week

Science park, Sweden: How to create international collaboration for students, companies and VET education.

- Third stakeholder seminar at Zemaitija College, Lithuania: Increasing international collaboration between companies and VET education through best practice examples.

- Fourth stakeholder seminar at Szczecin University, Poland: Increasing international collaboration between companies and VET education through best-practice examples.

- A final seminar is held in Denmark fordissemination of the project results. The result of this seminar will be presented in the printed version of this storybook.

Project coachingProject coaching is one of the three inter-connected cornerstones of the concept, along with the tailor-made education programme, and internship. The concept allows putting together the various interests and objectives of all stakeholders involved. Projects in general are convenient forms of arranging a work process where a number of variables are at play, in this case: the student’s overall potential, business idea, and a possible future career, the host company and its objectives, and the involved VET schools and their objectives.

Top:Sample of invitations and agendas of seminars

Right: Sample of the testing model

Below:Students in a cooking competition at stakeholder seminar

Part-�nanced by the European Union(European Regional Development Fund)

Stakeholder Seminar at Szczecin University in Szczecin –Increasing international collaboration between companies and VET education through good practice examplesTuesday 1st April 2014Agenda

09.30 - 10.00 Registration - coffee / tea 10.00 - 12.15 Inspiration• WelcomeProf. Piotr Niedzielski - Dean of the Faculty of Management and Economics of Services

• Marie Bjork - Project Manager, NetPort Karlsham, SBTP Lead Partner• Challenges of local labor marketsPh. D. Katarzyna Brzychcy - The Regional Labour Office

• Cross-border cooperationDominik Górski - Swedish Consul in Szczecin• Value – added of Cross-border cooperations – for regional companies

Maciej Borowy - Northern Chamber of Commerce

• SBTP Students presentations from Testing Model 4

- Sweden, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Denmark• Panel I

The impact of internationalization on vocational education

16:00 Dinner - social evening Intercultural Dialogue at local food restaurant - Chałupa

12:15 - 12:30 Coffee break12:30 - 14.00 Students presentations

14:00 - 15:00 Workshops

Panel IIWays of opening SMEs companies on international cooperation and vocational education

Panel IIIBest practises in building international VET networking

15:00 - 15:30 Summary

•

•

Summary and conclusionsSigning international VET network agreement

Place: Hall of the Faculty Council at Faculty of Management and Economics of Services US (ground floor) - Cukrowa St. 8

Dear Madame or SirThe South Baltic Training Programme (SBTP) would like to welcome you to our first

international seminar / workshop on Vocational training (VET). Together with VET

providers, companies, students and stakeholders in VET education we will discuss

how we could work together in the South Baltic region to become more internatio-

nal.

We think that you with your knowledge, network and ideas can contribute to the

project so that we together can build a stronger cooperation in the region. In the

seminar we will be practical and hands on when discussing both benefits and bottle-

necks and limitations in cross-border cooperation and find out how we can collabo-

rate in the future.In the seminar you will also meet the students that participated in the project, to

hear about and share their experience of cross-border collaboration in VET educa-

tion.

Please join us at the Liebherr Academy, the VET and future education academy of one of the world

leading companies for cranes, construction machineries and home supply.

When: Tuesday 12th of February 2013

Time: 09:00 - 13:00

Location: Liebherr Academie

Liebherr MCCtec Rostock GmbH

Liebherrst. 1, 18147 Rostock

www.liebherr.comThe seminar will be in Rostock in an old harbour city situated along the river Warnow and the Baltic Sea.

As the oldest University City in the Baltic Sea area we will welcome you in the maritime and hanseatic

flair of Rostock with its more than 200.000 inhabitants.

For more information see the attached agenda.

WELCOME

Please register to; Karin Perssonkarin.persson@netport.se

For more information about the

project and local contact informa-

tion:

www.sbtp.eu

The SBTP project supports internationalisation of VET education as well as cross-border entrepre-

neurship between business, VET education and VET students. The project aims to educate the youth

labor force in the South Baltic Sea region in international corporate culture and work for this group’s

mobility between countries. SBTP gives companies new business opportunities and makes it pos-

sible for companies to develop an international collaboration with qualified students from Sweden,

Lithuania and Germany.The project is financed by the South Baltic Programme 2007-2013 with the contributions from eight

partners: NetPort.Karlshamn Swe, Litorina Folk High School Swe, ITC Innovations- and Trendcenter

GMBH DE, HIE-RO DE, Rietavo BUsiness Information Center LT, Zemaitijos College LT, EUC Zeeland

DK and University of Szczecin PL, that is operating the Programme.

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South Baltic Training Programme TestingModel 4

South Baltic Training Programme

Testing Model 4

03.03.2014 Training Week

History

You and a commonshared background inthe South Baltic Seaarea.

CulturalIntelligence

When in Rome, do asthe Romans do.Learn to understanddifferent cultures.

Entrepreneur-ship

The passion for yourprofession. Learn tothink entrepreneurial.

07.03.2014

ProjectManagement

Make the most of yourinternship.Set your goals and planyour project.

Study Visits

Experience workingculture in localcompanies.

Coaching

Individual guidance foryou and your project.

Departure and Arrival

10.03.2014 Internship

28.03.2014

Your ProjectYour chosen company. Your ideas. Implement you project plan and achieve youraims. Get help and guidance from your coach. Build networks for your future.Experience different mindsets and working culture.

Departure and Arrival

31.03.2014 Recap and Seminar

01.04.2014

Recap and SeminarRecapitulate what you have achieved. Share your experience. Present yourproject. Make an impact - Let stakeholders in Vocational Education andTraining know what you think.

02.04.2014 Back Home

Must-have capability

By developing a project with a specific goalthe student learns to integrate numerous perspectives, which is a must-have quality for an entrepreneur, especially in a globalising world. Arranging a HansaVET journeyman travel in the form of a time-bound project allows the student to focus; the value added is created in a concentrated and experience-based mode; it is easier to evaluate, its results are easier to integrate in the student’s overall VET-studies. Each participating VET student is assigned to a project coach.

Components of a successful project

Working with the pro-ject will boost the stu-dent’s development in the direction of beco-ming more open, acti-ve, innovative, respon-sible and culturally capable – as these qua-lities equip the student to handle complexi-ties of the globalising world. A successful project consists of the following components:

Entrepreneurial: the student’s own dream or idea of determina-tion to follow through.

Specific: a clear project scope, pre-definedresult (a reserve for changes), well-planned project activities and interaction, and presen-tation of resource-perspective and feasible timeline.

International/regional: participation of a foreign partner; a business partner or source of learn-ing. Ideally, the student formulates the value the project brings to the foreign partner.

To guide the student

Coaching provides ways to activate a student’s self-awareness and own problem-solving abilities for achieving a goal. Instead of counselling or providing expert-like answers and recommendations, the coach asks questions that guide the student to finding

her own answers and plan actions that lead to achievement of the goal. Coaching requires a certain attitude on the part of the coach – where it is the student (and not the coach herself) that is in the centre of the developmental process. The coach-student relationship presupposes mutual trust, which shouldbemaintainednomatterhow“bumpy”the process might turn out to be.

A strong development vehicle

It is imperativethatthecoachusesaspecificmethod appropriate to the student’s situation

and possesses good social skills such as the active listening ability. The SBTP coaches use a tool called Integral Project Coaching Map that helps to monitor and document the process from all available perspectives, as well as several checklists and memos helpful to the student.

An engagement method

Coaching as an engagement method is thus very different from other methods such ascounselling, consulting or lecturing. A coach should maintain a broader perspective at all times and help the student to be both specific in relation to her project, and opento altering it depending on how the situation unfolds. Hansa VET journeyman travel is

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Left:Integral Project Coaching Map

potentially a very strong development vehicle for a VET student - it is therefore important to be sensitive to the student’s starting point, development potential and pace of learning. A coach moves through this delicate terrain by asking questions and not giving ready-made pieces of advice, thus stimulating the student’s development on her own premises. The coaching approach presupposes a trusting relationship between the student and the coach which gives the coach ‘a mandate’ to ask deeper questions, challenge and motivate the student – especially needed in times of change (e.g. when a project takes an unexpected turn). Finally, a coach can hold and balance several perspectives at the same time – the student’s, the host company’s and the school’s – which is not always possible for a consultant. This allows the coach to advance both the project and the student’s personal development.

The process of coaching

The SBTP had eight project coaches; two each in Germany, Poland, Lithuania and Sweden. Once the student was placed in a foreign host company, a coach from the student’s home country was contacted. At the same time, another coach – in the host country – becomes anassistingcoach.Thefirststepofthiswork

Right:Students preparing a presentation with coach Emma

is to develop an (often vague) initial idea of the student’s goal into a project draft. The student clarifies theaimsandobjectives andbecomes aware of possible challenges. The student is also encouraged to view the project through the host company’s eyes and realise what value the project can bring to the host company.

A bridge between objectives

The coach engages the host company to become a bridge between the two sets of objectives. The coach helps the student to integrate these objectives in the project scope and activities. This remains a live process, often full of re-iterations. As a result, both the student and the host company are well aware of each other’s aims and expectations, as well as the contributions that they intend to make and the common value to produce. As a rule, the student and the coach have about 2-4 meetings, personal or virtual, before the internship begins. During the internship, the coach continues interaction with the student and helps to make sense of events, happenings and changes that might occur during the internship. At the same time, the coach maintains the project-perspective as well, helping the student to advance the project

work and arrive at the optimal result. When needed, the coach also supports the host company. In the final stage, the coach helpsthe student to prepare a project presentation that is to summarize the student’s experience of the project, the host company, and the host country, as well as the student’s professional and personal learning experiences.

Self-awareness and entrepreneurial spirit

Coaching is very effective when challengesarise during the internship. The host company might lack enthusiasm to engage in the student’s project or in required personnel resources. The coach helps the student to clarify the situation, assess new requirements and consequences. In several cases, the students encouraged by the coach developed valuable side-projects that ultimately increased the value of the internship as a whole. In some instances, the student and the host company had misunderstandings that were often rooted in miscommunication. The coach’s role was then to clarify and mediate in order to restore the work process and relationships.

To sum up, the project coaching in SBTP...

... helps the student to access their own developmental re-sources;

... helps the student to focus attention on the goal and struc- ture of the experien-ce in the host country;

... encourages the student to be pro- active, and not pas- sive which might be typical for a young person in a foreign country;

... serves as a bridge for information ex-change between the parties prior to the internship;

... facilitates rela-

tionship-building in the cross-cultural environ-ment;

... helps the host company to structure the in-ternship for the student considering the needs of her project and her developmental needs.

The keys to well-being

Self-awareness and entrepreneurial spirit are some of the keys to well-being in this globalising world, and a good coach can find and emphasise them. It is essentialthat VET providers invest attention and effort developing the matching-coachingcompetence available to both students and host companies. Erasmus+ provides excellent opportunities for international cooperation within the VET field, engaging importantstakeholders. Every school, especially those involved internationally, should have such specialists able to lead a meaningful developmental dialogue both with the students and the host company. The Hans VET Journeyman Travel as a method is one way of strengthening this capacity; it will be further

Left:Students receiving their participation diplomas

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19

Dreams may come true - a teacher’s story”It started a few years ago, when my colleague Daiva Jackuniene came back from her foreign journey and enthusiastically talked about opportunities to participate in a new project. The project was very interesting, involving young people’s practical experiences around the Baltic Sea countries. Since it is an international project, the English language is very important, I realisedthatmylanguageskillswereinsufficient.However, I never stopped dreaming of being involved in this great challenge. I thought, maybe dreams can come true.

In front of an audience with shaking legs

One day Daiva asked me to go abroad and give a lecture to a group of international students of SBTP. I was still very worried about speaking English. My mission was to give the students an introduction to the history of South Baltic countries. History is my passion and my work. I also gave them an assignment; to choose a task that could help them to open-heartedly describe themselves, their dreams, expectations and their home countries. I met students from Sweden, LithuaniaandGermanyforthefirsttimewhenIarrivedinGermany.Istoodinfrontoftheaudiencewith shaking legs and suddenly the English words that I did know disappeared. However, I have one remedy that helps me battle stress: singing. I started to sing an old Lithuanian song. And that’s how my journey with international students in SBTP started.

I conquered my fear

Later, I had lectures in Sweden, Lithuania and Poland. While teaching the students, I have learned so much. The knowledge came along with the new students and colleagues. I will never forget the German student Marius, who wasthefirstoneto introducehimself.Hewasvery worried and stressed, so I spontaneously hugged him. In fact, I started to use the hugging method in various projects, and it worked very successfully. Another memory is of Styrmir from Germany. During the first days in the

project he barely spoke any English, but what a surprise it was when I saw him at the end of themodule.HewasspeakingEnglishfluently!MariusandStyrmircametoLithuaniafortheirinternship and they made lots of new connections. Marius even came back once just to meet his Lithuanian friends, while one Lithuanian man decided to start volunteering in Germany. I will never forget the Swedish student Jesper, who was telling incredible stories about hunting witches in the Middle Ages in Sweden. Lana, her amazing paintings and the story of her life is worth mentioning too. To be honest, I will never forget any of the students who participated in SBTP. SBTP gave me so many beautiful gifts of life; new experience and knowledge, challenges, memories,andfriends.Andfinally,Iconqueredmyfear.I’mnolongerafraidofspeakingEnglish,even though I’m still making mistakes. I have learned new methods that I can apply in other projects; I had the opportunity to visit South Baltic countries and cities, to meet new people. And I have realised that dreams do come true.”

Laima Nageviciene, SBTP teacher

Right top:Teacher Laima giving lectures on history

Right below:Students’reflectionsabout dreams and goals from Laima’s teaching class

Success stories

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SBTP offers students the opportunity to develop business ideaswith companieswithin theSouth Baltic region. The students improve their professional competence and knowledge about neighbouring countries, while advancing their skills for future international work. The students arecoachedandfinancedbySBTP.SBTPoffersthecompaniestheabilitytocreateanddevelopinternationalbusinessbyworkingwiththesequalifiedstudents.Furthermore,thecompaniescan create new productive networks as well as promoting their business on an international level.

Promoting business development and entrepreneurship

SBTP participants have delivered great results even though the internships were limited to three weeks. It was decided to be open to cross-border mobility to stimulate companies and students who are willing to use their creativity to promote business development and entrepreneurship. As a result, 70 projects were undertaken within the following 40 areas. A few of these fruitful collaborations are presented in this chapter.

Left:40 areas, based on the students’ free choice of interests, led to 70 undertaken projects

Leaving the comfort zone

Peter-Paul Wetzel, a joiner from Germany, decided to choose the joiner’s profession during his trip to New Zealand. Wooden houses, boats and carvings inspired him. He considered this work to be creative, individual, self-fulfillingandpractical.Most importantly,he found wood to be a beautiful, living material which changes with time. When Peter-Paul returned to Rostock in Germany, he started practice as a joiner at the very creative joinery Mobili ART Innenausbau Brenner e. K. This company develops and produces individualised furniture and innovative interior structures, and helps companies and hotels to design their

offices and rooms in aunique way. The joinery collaborates with other crafting companies and architects in the Rostock region.

Great match-making

At first Mobili Artwanted to send Peter-Paul to Sweden, but there were no relevant companies to be found. SBTP match-makers from Germany advised Peter-Paul, with the positive experiences from Marius Uminski and Styrmir Sölvi Köster, to go to Lithuania for an internship in

the company Reval Baldai. The choice proved to be a great match-making. Reval Baldai is a company producing unique furniture according to customers’ requirements. Over 80 percent of the furniture is exported, Russia being the main importer. The company is fairly small, with about 40 employees and is situated near the small Lithuanian town of Rietavas. The technologies used by the skilled joiners in this factory help to make wonderful furniture. The managers of the company are looking for innovations and act in a socially responsible way.

Leaving the comfort zone

By the end of the introduction week Peter-Paul already had a plan; he wanted to make a gift for the Rietavas community since he wanted to produce something real and share it. The goals with the experience of the internship included exchanging knowledge about company management, to work in an open-minded environment, and to learn how to patinate. The biggest challenge for Peter-Paul was to leave the comfort zone, to communicate with people from other cultures, to overcome the language barrier (some of the people who he would come to work with spoke neither German nor English), and to work with foreign machines. Peter-Paul had to trust his own skills and to convince others to trust him. The project “Coffee table” wasperformed during three weeks. It started with a brainstorming between Peter-Paul, Reval Baldai and SBTP coaches about the needs of the community. The idea of producing a coffeetableforRietavasBusinessInformationCentre was followed by discussions, planning, and detailed digital drawing. Peter-Paul was very systematic and managed to convince Reval Baldai to support the idea and to provide materials for a beautiful and exclusive table. The tangible result was in the end achieved, and Rietavas Business Information Centrereceivedabeautifulcoffeetablewithpatination.

Important life lessons learned

Peter-Paul learned important life lessons, such as that communication - both verbal and non-verbal - is essential, and that he can work as a joiner all over the world. His conclusion was

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Company

Name: UAB Reval baldai Area: Joinery, Furniture production Place: Rietavas, Lithuania Webpage: www.revalbaldai.lt

Student

Name: Peter-Paul Wetzel School: VET School Technic of Rostock Company: mobili ART Innenausbau Brenner e. K. Programme: apprenticeship as a joiner Place: Klein Schwaß near Rostock, Germany Webpage: www.mobili-art.de

Below:Peter-Paul preparing a gift for the Rietavas community

that companies are different based on theircurrent market. Besides, both Reval Baldai and Peter-Paul consider each other as cooperation partners in the future, perhaps within fiveyears. The managers of Reval Baldai and Peter-Paul met joiners and companies from Sweden and Germany through the SBTP on tour trips. The basis for cross-border activities between companies, students and schools are enabled bythejointeffortsoftheSBTPteam;coaches,match-makers, teachers, and the support of local project-partner organisations – in this case Zemaitija College and Rietavas Business Information Centre.

The essence of cross-border collaboration

While Bartlomiej Lelek worked in the United Kingdom during the gap-year of his Master’s degree, he came across an advert about the SBTP internship on the University’s website.

Later Bartlomiej got an invitation from his coordinator. A few days later he was on the train with some other Polish students, on the way to Kiel in Germany and further on with a ferry to Klaipeda in Lithuania along with a group of German students and teachers. During the introduction week Bartlomiej met students from Denmark, Sweden and Lithuania, and they participated in courses held by coaches from all the participating countries. Together with one student from Poland and three students from Lithuania he went to Sweden.

The essence of cross-border collaboration

After a warm welcoming in Sweden, Bartlomiej started his internship at Ronneby Brunn Hotel. He started working in the marketing department which was not completely matched with his field of study, however itturned out to be a positive outcome. Slowly Bartlomiej began to embrace the work system at his host company. His first challenge wasthat all the documents were only available in the Swedish language. Fortunately, his supervisor explained all content in a very efficientway.Bartlomiejbecame responsiblefor the Polish translation of the marketing material such as brochures and the webpage, and together with the marketing team, for developing a strategy on how to encourage potential guests to visit Blekinge county. Moreover, on behalf of Ronneby Brunn Hotel, Bartlomiej started a collaboration with event and marketing agencies on the Polish market. Bartlomiej realised that these contacts could be useful and valuable for both sides. He

Company

Name: Ronneby Brunn Hotel Spa Resort Area: Business development and marketing Place: Ronneby, Sweden Webpage: www.ronnebybrunn.se

Student

Name: Bartlomiej Lelek School: University of Szczecin Programme: Finance and Accounting Place: Szczecin, Poland Webpage: www.usz.edu.pl

Below:Bartlomiej with his fellow SBTP students Christian, Kasia and Kamila

points out that this is the essence of cross-border collaboration.

Making valuable new contacts

The atmosphere in the office was very nice,everyone was kind and helpful. Bartlomiej had only one problem, which was using the Swedish keyboard. He underlines the importance of having one’s own notebook, in order to increase the work progress. Research on the host company, as well as on customs and business relations is also very important preparatory work. After the internship in Sweden Bartlomiej learned more about the Swedish work environment. He also improved his soft skills and increased his marketing knowledge. Bartlomiej strongly encourages everyone to participate in SBTP. Everyone can test themselves in differentwork environments. It is a great opportunity for students to improve their language skills as well as make valuable new contacts which could be useful in both business and private life.

Perspective from a different culture

Angelica Coleman, marketing manager of Ronneby Brunn, says that without Bart and his fellow student Toni, she would not have been able to communicate professionally with the Polish and German markets through the company’swebpageandoffers.Thesestudentshave helped Ronneby Brunn to develop and create international business. Angelica urges politicians and decision makers to facilitate cross-border relations in the region and to extend the period to three months instead of threeweeks,inordertomakearealdifferencefor both the student and the company. The biggest motivation, according to Angelica, was to see the students’ contributions to the company and to get another perspective from youngpeoplefromadifferentculture.

From student participant to company ownerSvetlana from Belarus moved to Sweden in 2010, where she went to Litorina Folk High School for Baltic studies and an intensive Swedish course. Svetlana participated in the SBTP in order to get a new perspective,

and to learn and respond. She followed her curiosity and desire to meet new people, but she was worried since she was not used to communicating in English. However, during the experience Svetlana gained useful experience expressing herself both in public and in group discussions, as well as while giving presentations. She highly enjoyed the internship in Germany where she experienced a new work environment, learned about German culture and other countries in the Baltic region, and met interesting and successful people. Besides, ending the internship did not mean the end of networking. She didn’t get a work contract with the company where she had her internship but she kept in touch with the project team and has always felt very welcome in SBTP-related activities. Establishing a relationship with the Swedish SBTP team gave Svetlana knowledge, inspiration and positive moments.

Creating a positive future

Svetlana’s biggest wish since moving to Sweden was to work with her passion, not only for a living but to develop skills to create an interesting and positive future. Since being in Karlskrona she found the inspiration to paint again. She had a few exhibitions and got a remarkable chance to participate in a group

Company

Name: BOOB Werbung Area: Advertising agency Place: Broderstorf, Germany Webpage: www.boob-werbung.de

Student

Name: Svetlana Leuchuk School: Litorina Folk High School, Sweden Programme: Intense Swedish Place: Karlskrona, Sweden Webpage: www.litorina.fhsk.se

Startup company

Name: Lanagraphic Area: Advertising, graphic design, visual art Place: Karlskrona, Sweden Webpage: www.lanagraphic.com

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art exhibition, which was incorporated with SBTP in Poland. Svetlana knows that crossing borders offers a good chance to exchangeknowledge and skills, making new friends, new contacts and opportunities for further cooperation. Cross-border cooperation provides a wonderful opportunity to develop and grow, especially if you live in a small town. SBTP has been a great experience for Svetlana to learn about internationalisation and networking. After her participation she was involved in a Stakeholder seminar and the following module planning which was exciting and valuable. She shared some thoughts with the project manager of SBTP, Marie Björck, about designing and leading a project, and planning events. She replied: Maybe you will start your own company and project one day.

Get inspired by others

Today, with many thanks to her participation in and the coaching of SBTP, Svetlana has her owndesign studio,whichoffersprofessionalwork within graphic design and visual arts as well as consultancy in digital media, visual arts and related business. She hopes that her region develops culturally, and not only with local artists but internationally as well. Local artists need opportunities to go abroad to show their work, network and activities involving exhibitions, workshops and information, with the municipality and big businesses supporting collaboration and cross-border relations.Svetlana’sfinaladviceis to get inspired by others, yourself and the common dream, and have fun doing it and, just as importantly - celebrate success.

Becoming busi-ness partnersGintautas Cinskis was studying in his third year of tourism management in Zemaitija College when he applied to participate in SBTP. Gintautas’s family owns the Cinskiai Farm (Činskių ūkis) with 700sheep, which is the second-largest sheep farm in West Lithuania. Cinskiai Farm engages in meat production for hotels, cafes, local

markets and it also breeds sheep. Gintautas was very interested to get in contact with sheep

breeders abroad as he considers working on the farm with its growing potential. Before entering the SBTP training programme he had set concrete objectives to be implemented during his project: he wanted to learn about the sheep business in Germany, Sweden as well as on EU-level, to exchange experience and contacts in the sheep business and to cooperate and make business agreements. This concrete goal helped SBTPmatch-makerstofindasuitableplacementfor Gintautas at Wolfgang Grieger’s farm.

A gesture to strengthen the partnership

Wolfgang Grieger is one of the biggest sheep farmers in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania. Together with his family and employees he takes care of more than 2,000 sheep. As an

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Company

Name: Wolfgang Grieger (shepherd) Area: Sheep breeding Place: Groß Viegeln, Germany

Student

Name:GintautasČinskis School: Zemaitijos kolegija Programme: Rural Tourism Management Place: Telsiai, Lithuania Webpage: www.zemko.lt (school) www.cinskiuukis.lt (Gintautas family farm)

educated farmer, Wolfgang Grieger pays the most attention to species-appropriate sheep breeding. He also runs a horse-riding centre where children and adults can take evening classes or stay for a holiday. During Gintautas’s first week he got to experiencetypical work and agricultural management in Germany, and he worked with a team of sheep shavers and wool handlers. In the second week he was mainly occupied with ultrasound scanning (pregnancy testing) and in the third week managed the lambing process as a head of the lambing team. Gintautas’s biggest fear coming into the internship was that he would not reach his concrete goal, but his achievements were successful. He got new contacts in the sheep business in Germany, Sweden, England and the Netherlands. And, most importantly, Wolfgang and Gintautas became business partners. Gintautas was given a nice present by Wolfgang – a lamb, a gesture to symbolically strengthen the partnership. Cinskiai Farm is planning to breed the Texel-type sheep together with Wolfgang Grieger and to create meat-type products for Lithuania’s big markets. Wolfgang Grieger’s experience and contacts will help to produce high-quality sheep in the future.

Form new possibilities for the future

All the support from the SBTP team - knowledge during training week, support from coaches and from Lithuanian partners, Zemaitija College and Rietavas Business Information Centre - motivated Gintautas to reach his goal and to use the opportunities, to learn about other countries, their cultures and values. SBTP provides excellent opportunities for a student, a young entrepreneur to express and discover themselves and to acquire knowledge, experience and contacts, according to Gintautas. The programme focuses on personal development, improvement and education of a student/entrepreneur, which is a very significant focus today. Lecturesproviding important knowledge applicable in business - social media, project management, cultural and business lectures, workshops and visits to successful enterprises help the students to discover themselves and others and to form new possibilities for the future of each individual person.

To participate in the European market

Three weeks of internship at Wolfgang Grieger’s farm in Germany exceeded Gintautas’s expectations and his goals, targets, as he built a great foundation for sheep business development between Lithuanian and German sheep breeders. New specific knowledge, practical experience,building up contacts will continue the successfully developing sheep business and help it become a participant in the European market. For the future, it is important to share the testing model concept and results of SBTP with politicians, because it‘s a very successful approach to how entrepreneurs can exchange experiences, which facilitates growth of cross-border relations.

Differences improve knowledgePlunge Hospital Rehabilitation Department in Lithuania got a request from SBTP partner Žemaitija College to host physiotherapystudents from Germany and Sweden. Before the internships started, there were some concerns about communication. Cultural and educationaldifferencesmightcauseproblemsbetween the students, on the one hand, and the staffandthepatients,ontheother.However,

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Top left:Svetlana in her newly-established officeatLanagraphic

Below: Gintautas with his new business partner Wolfgang

the students were highly communicative and the patients adored the young, helpful and always smiling physiotherapists. The Lithuanian staff taught the students howto use various rehabilitation tools and equipment. The students were very eager in sharing their knowledge about improvement of patients’ rehabilitation programmes and demonstrating methodologies and techniques theyweretaughtinschool.Thehospitalstaff’sexpectations regarding sharing information about physiotherapy and massage techniques and learning about German and Swedish trainingsystemswerefulfilled.The languagebarrier, thought to be the biggest challenge, turned out to be negligible. Foreign students and Lithuanian physiotherapists with the same motivation and goals as well as a humane and friendly attitude were able to work together, which led to a peaceful and highly valuable development of cross-border collaboration.

Help from patients

Christian Bohar, from the VET School at the clinic Güstrow in Germany and physiotherapist in the 3rd year of education, shared the concern about a possible language barrier. His approach was to learn some Lithuanian words and phrases that might be useful in his work as a physiotherapist. Christian’s mentor, Vaida Sapiegaite, taught him about Lithuanian physiotherapy. He became aware of differences between the German andLithuanian health systems, which turned out to be important for his practice in Plunge.

Christian learned a lot about the Lithuanian culture as well as the cultures of other members of the SBTP project. Among the patients, there was a Lithuanian man who had lived in Ireland for a few years. He spoke good English and one day he decided to follow Christian around and translate during the therapy sessions. This would not have been possible in Germany, says Christian.

Problems leading to new projects

Another German student at Plunge Hospital was Franziska Schulze, who also learned about the Lithuanian health system and how it differed fromwhat shewasused to inherown country. Patients are allowed to stay in the hospital only a certain amount of time. After this period they will be sent home, no matter what state they are in. Stroke patients sometimes need years of care, but there was no rehabilitation centre and no more therapy. A female patient came particularly close to Franziska’s heart. She had a stroke and was not able to move on her own, or even to stand up. Step-by-step she made some progress with the help of Franziska, but then her time was over and she had to go home. This led to a new idea for the project; Franziska

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Company

Name: Plunge Hospital, Lithuania Webpage: www.plungesligonine.lt Name: Vital & Physio GmbH, Germany Webpage: www.vital-physio.info Name: Valjeviken Folkhögskola Physiotherapist Centre, Sweden Webpage: www.valjeviken.se Area: Physiotherapy

Student

Name: Cristian Bohar, Franziska Schulze, Katarina Nordbeck, Nadine Keller and Elke Rump

Left:Christian checks up on a patient at Plunge Hospital

Right:Elke helps a patient perform exercises of a rehabilitation programme

Schulze and Christian Bohar teamed up with a massage therapist student, Anton Ekberg, from Sweden. Together they created hundreds of photos to show the physiotherapy exercises accurately. They also made twelve videos for thePlungeHospital’s staff to show themwhat techniques they had learned in Germany. SBTP has shown Franziska that each country has a different system, a different cultureand therein lays the potential. She thinks that SBTP is a great opportunity to grow beyond yourself, to break new ground and to establish relevant contacts.

To create higher standards everywhere

Some other SBTP students did their practice in Germany and Sweden. The student Katarina Nordbeck from the Swedish School of Complementary Medicine in Staffanstorp went to the company Vital &Physio GmbH in Rostock, Germany. She used the chance to observe the differences inthe education systems for physiotherapists and medical massage therapists. Katarina believes that networking and working cross-border creates a great opportunity to share professional knowledge, and that in the end it will create higher standards in our work everywhere. These visits have showed Katarina what Germany is focusing on within the physiotherapy profession and that will influence her future studies in a positiveway. She is looking forward to any possible cooperation that this trip might result in.

Making a documentary

Another observation of the country-specificdifferences was made by two Germanstudents, Nadine Keller and Elke Rump, who did their practice at Valjeviken Folkhögskola Physiotherapist Centre in Sweden. Nadine and Elke hoped to learn more about people with neurological diseases, how the physiotherapist’s education was organised in Sweden, and the Swedish way of life. The biggest challenge was their project, which was collecting pictures and videos of treated patients. Their vision was to make a presentation about the special concept of Valjeviken and to sum it up by showing a documentary film of the internship. Nadineand Elke felt great pressure not only because

they wanted to make it as good as possible, butalsobecausetimeseemedtofly.However,they were very thankful for having such amazing coaches, who cheered them up in every possible way and told them not to give up their vision.

Communication by hearts

But not only the great coaches motivated Nadine and Elke. The biggest motivation came from the patients by just meeting them every day and recognising how they were fightingfor their lives. There were patients with fatal diseases, and although some of them had only a few months, they enjoyed their lives more

than one could possibly imagine. Nadine and Elke believe that SBTP became so successful because the people involved made great efforts to achieve their goals even if therewere some unforeseen problems on the way. Besides learning new therapy ideas for neurological patients, they learned to findways to communicate without words, but by hearts. The open-minded and helpful people in Sweden took care of them so well that it felt like they were their daughters. Both Nadine and Elke agree that SBTP is a great opportunity for people of their age to make new life-changing experiences. They learned that everyone is connected by environment, work and social life and that you can make a difference by just changing yourself. Ifmorepeople would have those possibilities in the near future, they are sure the would simply become better and more joyful, step by step.

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Turning life around through art

Konst och Hälsa (Art and Health, in Swedish) is an art company founded by the internationally recognised Swedish artist Bengt Saltö. The concept of Konst och Hälsa is to rehabilitate people who need to find a way back toemployment or higher education by working with art. For more than 30 years Bengt Saltö and his associates have helped a great number of people to find their inner creativity andto turn their lives around. Bengt believes that everybody can paint and that you can rehabilitate yourself through creativity.

Improving as an artist

Kamila Pytel from Poland had the opportunity to do her internship at Konst och Hälsa. She didn’t have any expectations, and she regarded it more as an adventure. The language barrier was a big fear, but the people at the company helped her to overcome it and they treated her like a family member. It worked out better than Kamila expected and she improved herself as an artist along the way. Through the opportunity to work with disabled people she also developed on a personal level. Kamila reached her main goal: learning how to organise a vernissage, which she also put into practice through the art exhibition Integration in Szczecin in April 2014.

Running a project alone

Kaja Rempel, an architecture student from Poland, was a bit sceptical of the internship at Konst och Hälsa, since she had her goal set in a slightlydifferentdirection.However,during the coaching process, she decided to join when she heard about the marketing part of the art exhibition Integration. It turned out to be a very important experience for Kaja, since she got a chance to run this project on her own. During her internship, Kaja visited the architectural department at Blekinge Institute of Technology. As this is the main fieldofherstudies,shewantedtolearnaboutnew techniques and how things are done in Sweden. She also had the opportunity to visitthearchitectAndersTörnqvist’sofficeinKarlshamn, where Kaja was shown drawings,

Company

Name: Bengt Saltö Area: Art project Place: Karlskrona, Sweden Webpage: www.salto.info/konsthalsa.html

Student

Name: Kaja Rempel

School: The West Pomeranian University of Technology, Poland

Website: www.zut.edu.pl

Name: Kamila Pytel

School: University of Szczecin, Poland

Website: www.wzieu.pl

Right: The company Brutze signs the agreement for future cross-border collaboration

Below:The art exibition Integration relates to social, international, cross-cultural, inter-generational inte- gration and accep-tance of persons with disabilities

3D-models and computer generated visual-isations from current projects. Coincidentally this was the SBTP Lead Partner NetPort’s new Science Centre, scheduled to be built in 2015. Kaja was impressed by the organisation of the team; as an initial step of a project, they interviewed the future users about their needs and how the building would be used. These data are then analysed before the design processstarts.Thisisverydifferentfromhowit’s done in Kaja’s country and from what they learn in school.

Reaching bigger market and network

The project Integration is described as an international exhibition of modern art, displaying works of 30 artists from more than 10 countries. Reflections of the artists aredeep and they relate to interpersonal relations as well as social, international, cross-cultural, intergenerational integration and acceptance of persons with disabilities. The exhibition took place at the University of Szczecin. Former SBTP student Svetlana Leuchuk and four other artists from Karlskrona went to Szczecin to get a chance to develop on an international market. The aim was to make artists more mobile in order to reach a bigger market and network. Both Kamila and Kaja stated that this project gave them friendship, courage and a lot of hope. Bengt Saltö considers Integration to be a successful project; he has established contact with a number of potential future business partners and he will continue to work with international exhibitions. Integration was partly funded by Sparbanksstiftelsen Kronan, Karlskrona Sweden.

Compare logistics across bordersKatarzyna Steinmetz, a student from Akademia Morska in Szczecin, Poland, had her internship in UAB Bruzte, which is a company dealing with logistics in Lithuania. The key area of UAB Bruzte is marine container transportation in Lithuania and Belarus. The company has never had interns before and the motivator to welcome Katarzyna to Bruzte was an interest in finding out about Polish transport andlogistics matters and sharing experience with a trainee, as Katarzyna was studying logistics and management in the European transport system.

Amazed by the internship idea

Katarzyna had from the beginning a very clear project idea about management system improvements and finance analysis. It waschallengingbecauseitwasherfirsttimehavingthis kind of a project and it was in a foreign country. Ugne Rupšyte, the transport manager of UAB Bruzte who became Katarzyna’s mentor, took good care of her. She provided the necessary documents to Katarzyna so that she could analyse the situation of the

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Company

Name: UAB Bruzte Area: Logistics Place: Rietavas, Lithuania Webpage: www.bruzte.lt

Student

Name: Katarzyna Steinmetz School: Akademia Morska Place: Szczecin, Poland

company. They went to Klaipeda to observe how the company works with logistics, and with clients. Katarzyna was amazed by how the internship idea was developed. She had some internship experiences in the past, but none of them were based on a project, which needed to be carefully planned, developed and then getting out of the comfort zone – by presenting it in front of an audience.

The important tool of body language

Katarzyna developed her organisational skills through her internship. She had to divide time in a way that she could implement her project. At the same time she learned a lot about work in Lithuanian companies. Katarzyna gained new business intelligence skills while working with Lithuanian people, and learned that body language is the most important tool in a non-English-speaking environment. Although the language barrier is difficult to cross, it’s notimpossible to communicate about important issues. Every time Katarzyna goes to live abroad she gets more confidence, both inthe working sphere and the personal sphere. She thinks it’s an excellent opportunity to get to know yourself and others. She learned that apart from differences in the nationalcultures, we are all the same. She learned that communication is key. Once you get out of your comfort zone, you can develop yourself to achieve what you want. She encourages everyone to be brave and do what you love.

Good return on invested time

For personal development Katarzyna met plenty of interesting people from all over the Baltic area, some of them she still stays in daily contact with. She had the opportunity to visit and get to know some very interesting cities and regions. Together with students from Sweden, Germany and Denmark, who were on internship in Lithuania, she visited Vilnius, Trakai, Plunge, Telsiai, Klaipeda as well as Latvia(Riga).KatarzynafindstheSBTPprojectto be one of the greatest experiences she has ever had. And UAB Bruzte discovered that having students on internships brings new perspectives and ideas to the business. They will do this again, and recommend others to use internships, you will get good return on the time you invest.

Learning how to make it in the real world

The Danish student Sussie Kristiansen is studying to become a construction worker. She did her internship at the company Michael Fransson Bygg & Snickeri in Karlskrona, Sweden. Sussie didn’t know what to expect of the internship and she was quite anxious of the outcome. She feared speaking English with all the participants, and that there would be a lot of miscommunication.

Building good spirit through team work

During the introduction week, the students give a personal presentation to the whole group, something Sussie found very hard to do. She started to laugh in front of the other students because she was so nervous, but the students were very accepting during her presentation. They did not laugh at her, but with her, which gave her self-confidence.The introduction week included some Team Building activities to bring the students together. For instance, they produced a keeper with a balloon, straw, a pair of scissors, tape and some string, and had to get an egg down fromthefourthfloorwithoutbreakingit.Thiswas a good exercise, because it built good spirit and cooperation among the students. Susie’s internship in Sweden went very well. Her self-confidence kept growing. However,the fact that Sweden and Denmark are very much alike in regards to how craftsmen work and how material is used, she found it a bit frustrating.ThedifferenceisthatSwedesaremore detailed in their tasks.

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Company

Name: Michael Fransson Bygg & Snickeri Area: Construction Place: Karlskrona, Sweden

Student

Name: Sussie Kristiansen School: EUC Zealand Program: Construction Place: Naesteved, Denmark Webpage: www.eucsj.dk

Right:Sussie’s workplace during her internship

Teamed up with experienced workers

Sussie was teamed up with two experienced Swedish guys, Tobbe and Ola, who were two of the most funny and accepting persons she had met for a long time. They were very interested in everything Danish, and Tobbe even spoke a bit of Danish. They had many laughs concerning the differences between the languages. Forinstance, the Danish word for measure is måla, which means to paint in Swedish. The last week of the internship was appointed a Danish theme, and they spoke only Danish and listened to Danish music. The work itself in Sweden was similar to what they do in Denmark, but Sussie didn’t mind. Even if she didn’t learn so many new things professionally, she did learn how to make it in the real world and that is something Sussie values very highly.

The company’s fears

The owner of the construction company, Michael Fransson, had some initial fears concerning insurance issues but they were eventually resolved. He also found it a bit challenging that his employees had to pick up the student to take her to the site in the morning and bring her back after work as this took some extra time. Apart from that, he is very positive about SBTP and says that he believes more in this concept than the way the education system works in Sweden. Even better would be if the company could have some compensation for the extra time it takes. According to Michael it is vital that the students are given the opportunity to work in the real world.

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Right:Photo collage of Dream Steam Bus Tour 1

Below:The Swedish student Jesper guided the group on the premises, introducing the team to the world of boat building

SBTP on tour

The Dream Steam Bus Tour was an initiative aiming to further extend the networking between the current partners of SBTP as well as exploring potential actors and businesses for future collaborations. The theme of the trips was chosen to be Joinery and Physiotherapy since these branches in particular had many cross-border connection points involving all kinds of actors within the SBTP.

Tour 1 - JoineryA team of 18 people gathered in Karlshamn, for a brief breakfast and a short tour of Lead Partner NetPort Science Park’s facilities, before hitting the road. The theme of this tour was joineriesand thefirst stopwas theboatbuilding school at the SBTP partner Litorina Folk High School in Karlskrona. Nils Göransson, the teacher at the boat-building course, talked about technical aspects of the profession as well as the students’ prospects as future craftspeople. The course runs for three years and the students have the possibility to keep the boat they have made, for the cost of the material plus an administration fee.

Hand and mind in vital collaboration

The next stop on the tour was the Swedish island Öland and the picturesque village of Vickleby, where the traditional structure of the village has been preserved. Vickleby harbours the internationally recognised school Capellagården, founded in 1960 by the Swedish furniture designer and teacher Carl Malmsten. As a student you are part of the community, and by living, working and studying at Capellagården, the student is given the opportunity to experience ”hand and mind in vital collaboration”, according to Malmstens educational philosophy. Capella-

gården offers courses in cabinetmaking andfurniture design, textile craft and design, ceramics and ecological gardening and today it is an independent, residential school run by a non-profit foundation. The school hasdeveloped into an international meeting place for students from different countries.The principal, Bodil Anjar, gave the team the grand tour and in the view of Capellagården’s international orientation, she expressed an interest in further developing the contact with SBTP and she signed the Letter of Intent for a future VET-platform. The team stayed for dinner at the refectory and was served a fantastic meal with ecological vegetables, grown at the school, as well as locally produced lamb and ditto cheese. An eventful day ended with live music performed by Rimas Kurlavicius, CEO at Reval Baldai and

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about the concept of Valjeviken before giving the grand tour. Sandström demonstrated the musical therapy room, an important part of Valjeviken’s model for rehabilitation. Since many students are physically impaired, many musical instruments are designed with this in mind or they are altered to suit the student’s needs.

Adopting Mother Teresa’s wisdom

The team later headed to the Swedish School of Complementary Medicine (KMH) inStaffanstorp.KMHwasfoundedin1974byLaila Zryd-Carlsson, who still runs the school at the age of 83. According to Zryd-Carlsson, the health care system had lost the holistic perspective of the patient’s situation. Each problem was addressed individually and the patient as a whole was not given much attention. Zryd-Carlsson was a social worker in 1970’s India, where she met Mother Teresa. Since then she has adopted Mother Teresa’s wisdom and her motto; Love and Touch. Zryd-Carlsson has also spent many years in China, training in Chinese medicine, which emphasises the connection among body, soul and spirit. She says it is all about common sense, and to hear the patient and try to see the whole picture.

An explicit demand for competence

KMH has the status of a Higher Vocational Education (HVE) and it is a post-secondary form of education that combines theoretical and practical studies in close cooperation with employers and industry. Programmes are offered in specific fields where there isan explicit demand for competence, and after graduatingstudentsaredirectlyqualifiedforemployment. Standards are set high in HVE programmes, and the students are highly goal-oriented. KMH is mainly focused on medical manual therapy, but courses are also given in massage, reflexology, acupuncture,basic medicine and SPA therapy, etc. Many companies have realized the importance of medical manual therapy, and many students already have a job when the studies are completed or they set up their own businesses. After the visit at KMH the SBTP team continued to Naestved, Denmark for the dissemination seminar.

SBTP Communication Manager Peter Bengtsson. Day two started with a visit to Michélsen Snickeri, a joinery run by a former student from Capellagården, Erik Michélsen. Hi main focus is making interiors and kitchens, and his work is distinguished by the attention to detail and the exquisite use of the material, resulting in a genuine product – a true hallmark of craftsman ship.

The opportunity to network

From Öland the team travelled to Bromölla in the south of Sweden, to visit another joinery company, Bröderna Perssons Specialsnickerier. Two brothers, Lars and Ulf Persson, who were

trained cabinetmakers and worked together at a major Swedish joinery company decided in 1982 to set up their own shop, specialising in interiors for hotels, banks, stores and other public buildings. Since then, the company has grown considerably and is today a highly efficient joinery with around 20 employees.The machine park is modern and they use the latest methods within CAD/CAM and 3D-drawings as well as ultraviolet finishingtechniques. After the last company visit, the tour enabled the opportunity to network and further discuss future cooperation. A part of the Lithuanian team even joined the German team on their way back to Germany to continue this conversation further.

Tour 2 - PhysiotherapyThe second tour, with the topic physiotherapy, gathered 15 participants. After a brief tour around NetPort’s premises, the first stopwas Valjeviken Folk High School which also is a Rehabilitation Centre as well as a Health Centre.Theschooloffersavarietyofcourses,many of them oriented towards students with health issues, such as neurological problems or injuriesfromtrafficaccidents.Thefacilitiesaremodern and include a large gymnasium with all kinds of training equipment as well as an indoor swimming pool, Victoriabadet, named after the Swedish Crown Princess. Valjeviken’s principal, Eric Sandström, gave a brief talk

Above:Laila Zryd-Carlsson still runs the Swedish School of Complementary Medicine at the age of 83

Left:Photo collage of Dream Steam Bus Tour 2

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Dissemination

The dissemination conference in Denmark focused on the methods, results and future growth in the region. The discussions emphasised the importance of international, global mindset as a very important skill for young people today. One important point that stood out during the day was that educational projects will seed and create our future within the Baltic Sea Regions.

Lene Espersen, Chairman of the Baltic Development Forum (BDF), gave the opening speech. The goal of BDF is that the Baltic Region would be the area of greatest growth in the world. To reach that goal it is necessary to use the region’s common resources and collaborate. Lene emphasises the importance of multi-level cooperation among governments, cities, business, people, private and public. In order to continue to be among the best the focus needs to be set on smart specialisation, smart collaboration involving private and public cooperation, and a smart region with smart cities. Lene suggests that companies create clusters across borders and improve further cooperation between schools and governments all over the region. This could also increase VET-student exchanges in the future. Another strong focus for BDF is the instability in Europe. It is crucial that we work together so we feel connected, Espersen said.

Perspectives and experiences

Marie Björck, SBTP Project Manager, talked about the Triple Helix model; the collaboration among companies, schools and public organisations. The SBTP project realises the politician’s visions of increased mobility in the region. Students learned new techniques which they brought back to their schools and home companies. A panel, with

representatives from the eight partners, debated on stage about the perspectives and experiences of working with the SBTP’s project methods. One of the key methods in the project was the coaching aspect.

The seminar also included workshops based on the following questions:

1. How can we transfer the results and methods from the SBTP into concrete cross-border co-operation?

2. Which important skills do the future VET-students need?

3. How can VET-schools support local growth in a global world?

Below:Danish partners Pia Schmidt and Helge Hansen together with Lene Espersen, Chairman of the Baltic Development Forum, who gave the opening speech

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Region. Their focus on educational projects and future potential for the Baltic student as well as teacher was of particularly great interest of the participants at the conference. French pointed out potentials and barriers of educational projects with four main issues of his research work:

• “Baltic Education”. The Baltic Sea Region as“Think Tank” for education, knowledge andinnovation.

• “Baltic Educators”. The most importantresources are teachers with internationalisation skills.

• “Baltic EduNetworks” – The importance ofdeveloping and maintaining the education network within the region.

•“BALTrepreneurs”.TheBalticGenerationWHYshould achieve entrepreneurial thinking with a cross-border perspective via their education in the Baltic countries.

Finding indicators for increasing mobility

Britta Wills referred to the COHAB-project with the headline: Co-ordination and Integration of Higher Education and Labour Market around the Baltic Sea. The main research target of this project was to find indicators for increasing mobility andcollaboration within the professions of nurses and teachers. According to Will, teaching skills as well technical investments are necessary in order to increase cross-border collaboration as a part of the education system. It will demand skills and the right techniques to participate with parallel teaching, video conference

teaching and multi classroom teaching. In addition to the new kind of teaching methods there will be a new paradigm of teachers, who will spend much time on networking cross-border as a natural thing and the collaboration of teachers will create new concepts. Together Britta Will and Martin French ended a very interesting day with a recommendation to keep on with the good work of participating in cross-border education projects.

4. Which benefits do small companies havein participating in cross-border projects like SBTP?

Defining future participation in EU projects

Thorsten Kohlisch, Head of the Joint Technical Secretariat of the South Baltic Cross-border co-operation, discussed the exchange and cross-border cooperation in the region from the European Programme Fund perspective. Kohlisch presented four main topics, which willdefinefutureparticipationinEU-projectsin the region. The future in this part of Europe is within green and blue growth, green/eco-tourism, environmental management, clean transportation, renewable energies, green construction and food manufacturing. About the SBTP project, Thorsten Kohlisch said:

•An inspiration forotherswith theability tospread fellowship

• A treasure chest of ideas to involve youngpeople

• An active event partner (South BalticEdutainment Day 2013)

• Reliable in terms of project management -awarded within the mini-call for well-designed extension activities.

Potentials and barriers of educational projects

Dipl.-Hdl., M.Sc. Britta Will and Dipl.-Hdl., M.Sc. Martin French from Universität Rostock, presented research results and methods about cross-border collaboration at the Baltic Sea

Above:An important purpose of the day was networking, among keynote speakers, project partners, skilled students and future collaboration partners

Below:Danish painting students created the conference referendum visual together with a former student and a teacher from Lithuania which resulted in a visual referendum of the day

A long-term strategy is needed in order to facilitate successful cooperation in the South Baltic region. The aim of the SBTP is to findyoung talents who want to explore their dreams in close collaboration with a company abroad, using entrepreneurial thinking. Ideas developed through education and together with a cross-border company strenghthen cooperation between the regions and deepen the contacts around the South Baltic region.

Working hands on

ThefirstexpectationofSBTPwastomotivatecompanies and young people to participate in an international project, encouraging international cooperation within the region. Both project partners and participants gained a lotofconfidence,recognisingthatevenasmallmunicipalityhadalottooffertoyoungtalents.Students increased cultural awareness and improved English language skills. Companies hosting students got different perspectivesof their everyday operations. Small companies and entrepreneurs got a chance to be involved in cross-border relations. It was a new method requiring new innovative thinking. Competent teams including coaches aware of entrepreneurship had to form in order to motivate companies, schools and students to join in and start cross-border activities,

as well as to match the student with the company.Thesignificantachievementwastopromote entrepreneurship and cross-border mobility and implement it in practice, applying experience, skills and knowledge in a relatively short time. Promotion and dissemination of the project and its results was carried out on a regional and national level in each country. The companieswereopenandflexible,appointingmentors to work with the student and even caring about the student’s leisure time.

To extend the concept

An important cornerstone of a successful mobility exchange is matching the student with suitable and innovative SME’s in order to stimulate export, product development and newbusinesscontacts.SBTPputgreateffortinfindingtherightmatch,creatingawin-winfor the participating company, focused on the entrepreneurial thinking. SME´s rarely want to take in foreign students due to the language barrier and the time-consuming coaching. However, SBTP provides an excellent coaching model which focuses on business and the entrepreneurial support. Many schools and teachers don’t know how to act from a business perspective but the companies need this motivation in order to take on a student. One suggestion for the future is to involve

Conclusions

How can talented young people be stimulated to work in small companies within the region instead of choosing big multinationals? How can the educational actors in the region be more flexibleandwillingtoworkcross-borderbyprovidingtrainingtogetherwithcompaniesinorderto develop smart, competitive and innovative cooperation?

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the regional incubators, which ought to be discussed both on regional and international level in the partner countries.

Network of ambassadors

The conclusion is to take the SBTP model one step further in creating a network of ambassadors, including participating companies, VET-schools and students. SBTP is a good example on how to develop an old tradition of cooperation between the countries by applying a modern format. The Triple Helix-approach in the work method created a win-win perspective for participating schools, companies and students to be more competitive, innovative and dynamic around the South Baltic.

Visions

The project has following visions for the future:

• A conceptual and strategic document withmethods for continued work in the regional clusters to promote cross-border exchange, mobility and business development for SME´s. How can the results be used and ideas developed in order to form new projects that will benefit regional mobility in futurecollaboration?

•Disseminationoftheresultsanddiscussionswith decision-makers on regional and national level.

• Database including stakeholders, potentialactors and priorities.

• Research on possibilities to start a VET-education involving at least 3 countries, and 1 branch acting as a test-platform towards the national authorities for certificationdiscussions and company networks for quality certification.

Challenges

Following challenges need to be addressed:

• Disparities in vocational education systemswithin the region.

• Vocational training systems traditionallytends to focus on the local market.

•Barriers in concepts,approaches,financing,culture and languages.

•Lackofopportunitiesforvocationalstudents

to get acquainted with neighbouring countries and to start business with cross-border partner partners.

•Lackoftraditionamongvocationalgraduatesof working in the region.

List of future actions

Certain areas and actions need to be prioritized in the future work, based on the discussions at the seminar.

The Team

Create friendly Steam innovation Team

Create clusters with competence centres

Management

Learnfrommistakesandchange!

Findmoneytofinancecross-bordermobility

Open Mind - No borders

Common VET market

Motivation – passion, win-win, cultural knowledge

Matchmaking

Matching glove and hand

Developing improved matchmaking process

Networks

Practice

Companies

Collaborations give advantages/new opportunities

Regional development

Benefits

Involving business (SME)

Students

Interest and possibility to go abroad

Engagement

Ambassadors

Going into stretch zone

Networking – make new friends

Coaches

Teachers need cross-border training

Coaching methods

Tools

Manuals for the future

SBTP Tool kit model

Quality assurance of mobility in VET

Communication

Disseminating success stories

Marketing good examples

Promoting business networks

Common VET market

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“The advantages of SBTP arethe gaining of knowledge about neighbouring countries and access to new markets. We have had two extremely committed and professional students in the project. These students enrich your work life and help your company reach new markets.”

Angelica Coleman Marketing Manager, Ronneby Brunn, Sweden

Statements

TheSBTPprojecthasresulted inmany lessons learned,experiencesexchanged,difficultieschallengedandgoals achieved. Who better to sum up the experience than some of the truly engaged and devoted persons who have participated throughout this process: students, partners, companies, coaches and promoters.

”For us as a joinery it’s very interesting to experience the structure of internship in other countries. We are excited to see how teachers and schools are trying to save the individual part in design and that the students are allowed to express their creativity while producing their works. Without SBTP, where could we and our apprentices gain such kinds of impression and experience?”

Ulrich Timm Owner of Tischlerei Timm, Germany

”We have had three students in our company. These internships have provided excellent experience for both sides; the students have got inspiration for future development as creative professionals, and we have realized our company is an equal partner to companies all over the region. SBTP has highlighted the importance of improving the quality of VET education in Lithuania, and perhaps in the whole Baltic region.”

Rimas Kurlavicius Owner, Reval baldai, Lithuania

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“For me SBTP was a very niceexperience. I learned a lot about my job and even more about life. My biggest fear was the language barrier. But now I know that I’m able to manage life in a country where no one speaks my native language. I could even imagine working in another country.”

Christian Bohar Student participant, Germany

”The students were afraid to go alone cross-border for their internship. And then there was a language barrier, too. The greatest success during this journey is to see the development of the students, not only professionally but as persons.”

Neelum Bhatti Student promoter, Sweden

“Wehaveall kindsofpossibilitiesto develop our market inter-nationally, create new professions and preconditions for new professions. We have a world of possibilities. And in my point of view we can reach many professionals through the SBTP project.”

Bengt Saltö Artist, company participant, Sweden

”To facilitate mobility and think cross-border we need to have a long-term strategy. The SBTP team has developed motivated and skillful participants that in a very short time have achieved fantastic results. Now we have to continue to support these young ambassadors, schools, companies to grow and flourish around theSouth Baltic region.”

Marie Björck Lead Project Manager, Sweden

”SBTP was a serious challenge for our company since we had never participated in an international project before. Nevertheless, the challenge was accepted and our company was happy about the new experience, and with the students that worked with us.”

Albinas Maslauskas Deputy Director, Plunges Laguna Company, Lithuania

”Through SBTP, Zemaitija College strengthened the relationship and trust with local companies and VET schools. Today our students andstafffeel confident inhostinginternational events, developing international collaboration and sharing cross-border best-practice examples.”

Daiva Jackuniene Partner promoter, Zemaitija College, Lithuania

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”Mobilising the project team was challenging, as it should immediately respond to emerging situations which consumes time and effort.The partners successfully managed to share responsibilities. Companies provided not only placements for students, they also cared about students‘ leisure time and cultural awareness development.”

Laima Dockeviciene Project Manager, Lithuania

”VET graduates need to be prepared for a wider labour market outside their own country. VET graduates also need to be prepared to start and operate their own companies in a global market. SBTP contributed to this development by building a common market for education and labour in the Baltic Sea Region.”

Anders Bergström (Father to SBTP) Priority Area Coordinator in Education

”The projects gave students the opportunity to work in a new place, experience new ways of working and to cooperate in the international environment, the meaning of project approach and the ability to set their own new challenges.”

Monika Wojtkiewicz Communicator, Poland

“Congratulations to the project,project managers and implementers for the courage to open new doors and create opportunities for young people to become entrepreneurs in a modern Europe.”

Agrita Martinsone Head Master, Litorina Folk High School, Sweden

”We were so excited to see so many participants of our exchange programme become more confident, improve their skills inEnglish and develop into people with their own direction and an open mind for international friendship and networking.”

Kerstin Rönick Project Manager, Germany

”Cooperation and collaboration between students, schools and businesses are very important for the development of our region. We must take advantage of both the similarities and differencesbetween the countries. SBTP has started and we look forward to the continuation.”

Katarina Johansson Process leader, Competence and labour market Region Blekinge, Sweden

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”SBTP has been a great experience. The structured approach of the testing models and professional performance from project coaches, promoters and partners assured good results and quality. Students and companies involved motivated and supported each other so that even during a relatively short time of internship, students managed to implement their projects.”

Rasa Baliuleviciene Project coach, Lithuania

”People, skills and collaboration are three pillars that made SBTP a wonderful success. The result shows that companies are willing to participate, partners are interested in future cooperation and students are finding newpossibilities in personal and professionalfields.”

Rimante Jocyte Project communicator, Lithuania

”It was truly a pleasant experience to participate in such a successful event like the SBTP Dissemination Conference! It was in itself anexample of a successful cross-border cooperation. One of the challenges, but also great experiences, was that with several enthusiastic and interested partners there were more than enough keynote speakers and ideastochoosefrom!”

Pia Schmidt International Coordinator, EUC Zealand, Denmark

“The youth are our booster andinnovation factor. They are our hope for a smarter, cleaner, happier and more peaceful planet. The more broad, comprehensive contacts among young people, the more benefits forour regions, countriesand the world as a whole.”

KrzysztofŻarna Director of CETC-EGTC Ltd, Poland

”SBTP is a fantastic initiative and we hope that this can help to create a network of clinics, cooperating across borders. So far, we have had contacts with colleagues mainly in Denmark, but we welcome collaboration also with clinics in other countries.”

StaffanLidbeck Veterinarian, Löberöd Horse Clinic, Sweden

”When a student with a project idea are skillfully matched to a suitable host company, a skillful coach helps both sides to take advantage of the business and developmental opportunities that international vocational mobility offers.Theskillfuluseofthemodelis a means of quality assurance of international vocational mobility.”

Anastasia Nekrasova Coach, Sweden

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”The initiative of SBTP is important for our region, because education is the basis for specialisation. Vocational education puts emphasis on a close relation to the business world, which supports growth. It’s a very intelligent way of creating a cluster of knowledge, since you get a lot of experience by working in the real world promoting mobility and cross-border exchange.”

Lene Espersen Chairman, Baltic Development Forum

”As an important part of our regional development strategy, we prioritise cooperation in the South Baltic Sea region when it comes to education and business. Through cross-border cooperation we can strengthen our own region. This has also characterised SBTP.”

Christina Mattisson Chairman of the Board Regional Council Commissioner Region Blekinge, Sweden

”Since the Baltic countries are a part of Swedbank’s home market, it is natural for us to participate in SBTP. We had the privilege to meet attentive students from Lithuania. They were able to compare banking procedures, primarily the handling of cash. Both parties gained valuable insightof thedifferencesbetween our two countries, as well as of the many things that unite us.”

Patrik Henningsson Headoflocaloffice Swedbank, Karlskrona, Sweden

”KFH creates networks between member companies and the society. By cooperating in the Baltic Sea region, we keep our networks alive and get better knowledge about each other’s markets. SBTP is an excellent meeting point for students and it promotes future business opportunities. The students are our future employees, maybe even our future business leaders. ”

Eva-Marie Andersson Managing Director, KFH Karlskrona, Sweden

”SBTP made me grow into truly believing in myself. My participation in SBTP was a prime time of high self-esteem and confidence. I hope that one dayI can give something back to all those wonderful people.”

Ronja Håkansson SBTP Student, Sweden

”Cross-border cooperations reduce thenegativeeffectsofborderssuchas administrative, legal and physical barriers. SBTP tackles common problems in our region as well as highlights the area’s potential. SBTP has also strengthened a mutual trust and understanding.”

Samuel Henningsson CEO, NetPort Science Park Sweden

Visions and pioneersEven before the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, a town twinning agreement was signed between Klaipeda in Lithuania and Karlskrona in Sweden. Since then this type of cooperation has spread andflourished.TodayKarlskronahastowntwinningagreementswithseveraltownsintheSouthBaltic region, such as Gdynia in Poland and Baltijsk in the Russian Kaliningrad region. Karlshamn, west of Karlskrona, is connected to Sopot in Poland, and Svetly in Kaliningrad. Similar agreements are to be found all around the interesting landscape of the South Baltic region. Many of these agreements were made possible thanks to a number of important visionaries that foresaw the potential at an early stage.

In tiny aircraft across the Baltic Sea

Three of these pioneers are from the region Blekinge in the southeast of Sweden; Per Gudmund Lindencrona, Peter Althini and Bernt Johnson. These forward-looking men made numerous breath-takingjourneysintinyaircraftacrosstheBalticSea,andtheireffortsledtotheopeningof the Baltic Institute in Karlskrona in 1992. The institute became an important source of information for people and companies who wanted to build networks and co-operate with others across the Baltic Sea region. The Baltic Institute organised seminars, conferences and study visits, and has participated in several projects promoting democracy.

New transport routes

An InterReg secretariat was set up at the Baltic Institute, and Blekinge has led and participated in many InterReg projects such as Baltic Gateway, Baltic Master, Art Line, Seagull and Seaside. These projects focused on infrastructure, culture, politics, environment issues, safety at sea, etc. New transport routes around the South Baltic coastline were established, for instance the ferries between Karlskrona - Gdynia and Karlshamn - Klaipeda. Another outcome of these three gentlemen’seffortswasthefoundingofLitorinaFolkHighSchoolinKarlskronain1993.LitorinaFolk High School is one of the partners of SBTP.

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Right: Per Gudmund Lindencrona and Vytautas Landsbergis, in Karlskrona in 1993. Professor Landsbergis was one of the great leaders of the democracy and liberation movement Sajudis in the 1980s. He was Lithuania’s firstheadofstateafter independence from the Soviet Union.

Publisher: NetPort Science Park

Editor: Lotta Johansson

Editorial group: Lotta Johansson, Marie Björck,

Neelum Bhatti, Peter Bengtsson

Design graphic layout: Lotta Johansson

Partners

SBTP is a South Baltic cross-border project

consisting of eight partners and eleven associated

partners from Denmark, Germany, Lithuania,

Poland and Sweden.

EUC Zealand, Naestved, Denmark

ITC Innovation and Trendcenter GmbH, Bentwisch,

Germany

HIE-RO at the University of Rostock, Rostock,

Germany

Rietavas Business Information Centre, Rietavas,

Lithuania

Zemaitija College, Rietavas, Lithuania

University of Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland

Litorina Folk High School, Karlskrona, Sweden

NetPort Science Park, Karlshamn, Sweden (Lead

Partner)

Associated partners

ECOVIS Europe AG, Berlin Germany

County Rostock, Rostock, Germany

RegionalLabourOfficeinSzczecin,Szczecin,

Poland

Regional Vocational Training Center, Szczecin,

Poland

Rietavas Women’s Employment Centre, Rietavas,

Lithuania

The Union of Industrialists of Plunge, Plunge,

Lithuania

Lithuanian Small and Medium Business Council,

Lithuania

Lithuanian Tourism Association, Lithuania

Plunges Local Labour Exchange, Plunge, Lithuania

The Enterprise and Crafts Association, KFH,

Karlskrona, Sweden

The Regional Council of Blekinge, Karlskrona,

Sweden

SBTPispart-financedbytheEuropeanUnion

(European Regional Development Fund).

Additionalfinancialsupport

The Regional Council of Blekinge

Municipality of Karlshamn, Karlshamn, Sweden

The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the authors and can in no way be taken to

reflecttheviewsoftheEuropeanUnion.

The home markets of Denmark, Germany, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden are too small to feed a modern welfare state. The countries need to cooperate and create a common market that has an understanding of cross-border entrepreneurship. It must function as an arena where companies can practice and develop joint businesses in order to compete in the global market.

South Baltic Training Programme (SBTP) is a project aiming to support internationalisation of vocational education and training as well as cross-border entrepreneurship. The project ran between2012-2014, and isfinancedby the SouthBaltic Programme with contributions from eight partners.

SBTP offers students an opportunity to developbusiness ideas with companies in the South Baltic region. The companies get the opportunity to create and develop international business by working with qualifiedstudents.Duringtheprojectthestudentsimprove their professional competence as well as knowledge about neighbouring countries, and the companies create new productive networks as well as promoting their businesses on the international level.

Visit us at: www.sbtp.eu

Follow us at: www.facebook.com/SouthBalticTrainingProgramme